CNN, MS NOW and Politico sue Trump over White House coverage ban

At first glance, the messages seemed downright ordinary.

“What’s up with your guy from Washington? I don’t need him to do construction. I need him to measure a plot of land and provide measurements,” the man had asked over an encrypted app, according to law enforcement.

But this was no neighborly request. It was a directive coming from a Russian intelligence operative known as “the Viking,” who had a hunch that a prominent political dissident was living in the nation’s capital. A dissident whom the Kremlin wanted surveilled and then extinguished, officials said.

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South Dakota Republican Secretary of State Monae Johnson. Jack Dura / AP file

South Dakota’s Republican secretary of state is breaking with her party and endorsing the Democrat running for the office, saying “the integrity, stability, and professionalism of this office is at stake.”

Secretary of State Monae Johnson lost the nomination at the state GOP convention in June to Heather Baxter, a state lawmaker whose campaign website says she aligns with President Donald Trump and his concerns about “inaccurate voter rolls, mail in ballots, and voting machine issues.” A previous statement on Baxter’s website said she supported getting rid of voting machines in favor of hand-counting ballots, which has been a theme among those pushing conspiracy theories that voting and ballot counting machines can be rigged.

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As Trump takes aim at mail-in ballots, Democrats increasingly plan to vote in person this fall, according to a new NBC News poll.

John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune / Tribune News Service via Getty Images file

The survey shows 23% of registered Democratic voters saying they intend to cast their ballot by mail in the midterm elections, down from 34% who said so at this time in 2024.

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The House Armed Services Committee is investigating the diversion of F-35 fighter jet components from Australia to Hong Kong, a spokesperson for the committee said.

“The committee has already received multiple briefings, and we’re continuing to look into this incident as we conduct oversight,” said spokesperson Heather Vaughan.

Bloomberg first reported the probe by House lawmakers. And Politico first reported on the shipment of F-35 parts that were bound for the United States for repairs but ended up in Hong Kong. Chinese intelligence agencies have long targeted the F-35’s technology.

The Pentagon’s F-35 program office has acknowledged in a statement that “we are aware of a shipment issue of unserviceable F-35 components, and we are actively working with U.S. authorities and industry partners to retrieve these components, investigate the incident and place safeguards to avoid a future occurrence.”

A federal appeals court on Monday introduced a new wrinkle into the convoluted fight over whether Republicans can use a new congressional map in November’s election, as the GOP tries to eliminate one of the state’s two Democratic House districts.

David A. Lieb / AP file

The St. Louis-based 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered that the new map drawn last year should be used this fall, even though the Supreme Court has already twice rejected Republicans on the issue in recent weeks and had apparently put the issue to bed.

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A residential buildings that were damaged by recent strikes in Karaj, southwest of Tehran earlier this year. Atta Kenare / AFP via Getty Images

Michigan Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers said in new campaign ad this afternoon that the "war with Iran needs to end and end quickly," and called for a temporary halt on diesel fuel exports to “make life more affordable” in the meantime.

"Michigan families are struggling with the price of everyday life. Groceries cost too much. We have to bring prices down," Rogers said in the ad posted on X. He said when the war ends, "energy costs will plummet. But Michigan families can’t afford to wait for that to happen."

Rogers is facing a highly competitive race with Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed, who's focused his campaign on affordability issues.

Trump has maintained the economic situation has improved under his leadership. "I’m bringing the prices way down, way, way down,” he said at his midterm convention earlier this month.

Rogers' call for a quick end to the war came shortly after another GOP Senate nominee, Rep. Ashley Hinson of Iowa, took to X to call for an end to the conflict and a temporary halt on diesel exports.

Samuel Corum / Getty Images

The White House has launched a new page on its website called “Trump TV: The Essentials Station.”

“Watch the Trump Administration’s biggest moments all in one place. Top videos, major remarks, and must-see highlights streaming 24/7 and updated in real time. Stay informed and stay up to date!,” the page on the official White House website advertises.

In a post on X, the White House said the stream would run 24 hours, seven days a week, beginning tonight at 7 p.m. Eastern. The announcement comes as members of the White House TV pool refused to provide footage of the president's activities today, in solidarity with the three news organizations that Trump on Friday banned from the White House.

The Trump Administration has previously streamed White House events, captured by its own cameras, to the official website and other social media platforms, so it is unknown how “Trump TV” may differ.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani offered a tame rebuke of Trump’s ban of some outlets from the White House, saying in remarks to the press that he had told Trump all media outlets would be present at their joint press conference at Gracie Mansion, the mayor's official residence.

“That is something that I believe in is everyone, no matter the opinion or the critique that we engage,” Mamdani added of the outlets’ ban.

Trump held firm in his decision while questioning other outlets’ decision to not fill in for the banned CNN as broadcast pool today.

Mamdani reacts to Trump's White House coverage ban House

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“It’s interesting because they said they were going to boycott me, but they never boycott me, so I wasn’t very worried about that. Look at all that press,” Trump said.

The two leaders said that their meeting focused mostly about developing housing at Sunnyside Yard, a train yard in Queens.

“It’s a real pleasure that just today we’ve agreed to set up a new level of that conversation between our housing and operations team at City Hall and the White House team,” Mamdani said.

Trump added that the development of Sunnyside is a “big job” that “everybody’s wanted” to tackle, and which he said would require federal approvals and funds to execute.

The CNN booth outside the White House on Monday. Daniel Heuer / Bloomberg via Getty Images

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear.  Sean Rayford / Getty Images file

There's something interesting in the Meta advertising data for Kentucky Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear's political action committee, In This Together: Where he's spending.

Over the last month, Beshear's PAC spent on digital ads in Kentucky, but also across South Carolina, Nevada, Virginia, New Hampshire, Michigan and New Mexico. Those are the six states holding early Democratic presidential primaries in 2028. The PAC also ran ads in a few other places too, but the early primary states drew the most attention.

Beshear is not the first politician to signal their interest in reaching voters in these states, but the spending is an important reminder that the 2028 presidential race looms just across the horizon of this fall's midterm elections.

"ITT runs a variety of ads online, from ads encouraging people to join our email list, to search ads and ads promoting the governor's book tour events. Ads have been served in every state and DC, with the most spent in his home state of Kentucky," said Eric Hyers, Beshear's former campaign manager who currently helps run In This Together, when asked about the ad spending.

Trump responded to the lawsuit brought forth today by outlets he banned from the White House, attacking the judge who was assigned the case.

Daniel Heuer / Bloomberg via Getty Images

Trump blasted U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, whom he appointed in 2017. Kelly in 2018 ruled in favor of CNN’s then-chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta, after the White House stripped Acosta of his press credentials.

Kelly at the time ordered the administration to temporarily return Acosta’s press pass. The White House acquiesced days later, returning the reporter’s pass permanently.

“In other words, almost without question and, as usual, we’ll go for appeal,” Trump wrote on Truth Social about the current lawsuit, while continuing to attack media reporters and publications for their coverage of him.

The Washington Post and New York Times said today that they will not publish photographs of presidential events today until midnight, joining what the Post described as a “collective effort with photographers in other newsrooms” to show support for outlets banned from the White House.

The Times said it would not publish or distribute photographs today taken as part of the White House still photography pool, "in conjunction with other members of that pool and in a show of support for the news organizations being unfairly targeted by the president's barring of journalists from the White House."

The outlets made their announcements in separate posts on X.

Vice President JD Vance traveled to Greensboro, North Carolina, today to voice his support for Republican Senate nominee Michael Whatley and several other GOP congressional candidates.

Whatley, the former chair of the Republican National Committee, in particular is facing a competitive race this fall against former Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat. Trump also campaigned for Whatley in the state last week.

Republican Senate candidate Michael Whatley poses with an attendee at a rally in Greensboro today. Kent Nishimura / Pool via Getty Images

During his speech, Vance repeatedly accused Cooper of “bending the knee to the far left."

“We don’t have time for politicians who want to play both sides, who promise you that they’re moderates while giving the crazies everything they want,” Vance said. “My friends, this November is make or break. You either stand up to this insanity, or you will stand with it.”

Judge Timothy Kelly has set a Wednesday hearing on CNN, MS NOW and Politico’s motion for a temporary restraining order for Trump's White House coverage ban.

The hearing will take place Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. ET via videoconference.

Kelly has ordered the Trump administration to respond to the news organizations' claims by tomorrow.

Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, today endorsed Republican Rep. Mike Lawler as he runs for re-election in a battleground district in New York.

Golden, a moderate Democrat who is retiring at the end of his term, cited Lawler's help with legislation beneficial to his state's lobster industry as one of the reasons for the cross-party endorsement.

"Mike Lawler has been a true partner to me and a friend to fishing families he will never represent. I strongly back him, and I hope voters send him back to work," Golden wrote in an op-ed for lohud.com.

Compared to anxiety about rising prices, data centers are hardly top of mind for voters heading into the midterm elections — but they have become one of the most potent weapons in politics, according to a new NBC News poll.

Just 2% of registered voters called data centers the most important issue facing the country, according to a new national NBC News poll, putting it in ninth place out of nine issues tested. Inflation and the cost of living ranked at the top, at 28%, followed by government corruption, at 18%.

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Rep. Ashley Hinson, the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate in Iowa, took to social media today to call for "a successful and immediate" end to the war with Iran.

“Iowans are being squeezed and shouldn’t have to foot the bill at the pump or the checkout line for the war in Iran," Hinson wrote in a post on X.

"We need to use every option at our disposal to provide some relief from high prices," including suspending the gas tax and pausing diesel exports, she added.

"These actions to lower costs are needed ASAP, and the war needs to be brought to a successful and immediate end," wrote Hinson, who has voted six times in opposition to House resolutions directing the president to remove armed forces from hostilities with Iran, including just last week.

Rep. Ashley Hinson. Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images file

Vice President JD Vance called for voters to turn out for Hinson at a rally Friday in Iowa. Hinson did not attend the event, but Vance told the crowd he wanted to give her "a shoutout" and called her "an amazing public servant."

The president’s sinking ratings threaten to drag down Republicans in November’s midterm elections, as voters blame him for high prices and a shaky economy, according to a new NBC News poll.

Trump’s approval rating stands at 41% among registered voters, a second-term low in the poll, with a majority (55%) of voters saying they believe Trump’s policies have hurt the economy.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced he will meet with Trump this week in New York, adding that the meeting "could change a lot.”

In the post to X, Zelenskyy also thanked Trump for signing sanctions legislation Friday meant to hinder Russia in its war with Ukraine.

When talking with reporters this morning at a U.S. military base, Vice President JD Vance said he believes Trump is meeting with Zelenskyy “either tomorrow or the day after.”

Vance said he is “optimistic” about making progress on a Russia-Ukraine peace deal, although “the Russia-Ukraine war has been by far the toughest of the international conflicts to solve.”

“We’re going to keep on trying to solve it,” he said.

Earlier today Trump posted on Truth Social that Russia has “lost control” of its diesel and oil industry, pointing to Ukraine’s bombing of refineries within Russian territory.

“This ridiculous and never ending War with Ukraine must be ended,” Trump wrote. “The whole World suffers as 25,000 people, mostly soldiers, are being killed each month. What a shame!”

According to the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonpartisan think tank, no legislation authorizing aid to Ukraine has passed since the start of Trump’s second term as president. However, Trump has authorized the sale of American weapons to Ukraine, paid for by NATO countries.

The president and first lady Melania Trump will host an arrival ceremony for Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife this week featuring military demonstrations before the two first ladies visit a museum, according to a White House release.

The arrival ceremony for Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, will feature 479 military personnel, the first lady's office said. The U.S. Marine Band will play the national anthems of both countries, and Trump and Xi will deliver remarks, the release said. The arrival ceremony will also include a military review, a military presidential salute and military flyovers.

Later, Melania Trump and Peng will visit the Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art, and then the Trumps will host Xi and Peng for a state dinner, the release said.

The high-profile U.S.-China summit marks an opportunity for the two world leaders to discuss issues like trade and artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence concerns have rocketed around the capital and across the country in the wake of warnings from industry insiders about potentially catastrophic effects of the technology's development.

Trump traveled to China to meet with Xi in May.

Artificial intelligence is set to be a major topic when Trump welcomes China’s Xi Jinping this week for an official state visit. It comes as Trump says he plans to form a so-called AI force and hire an AI czar. NBC News’ Hallie Jackson reports for "TODAY."

Trump and China's Xi Jinping expected to discuss AI safety

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U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, the Trump-appointed judge assigned to the White House press access lawsuit filed by CNN, MS NOW and Politico this morning, has dealt with the topic in the past.

In 2018, Kelly ordered the Trump administration to temporarily return CNN’s then-chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta's press pass after he was barred from the White House over a contentious press conference interaction with the president.

While CNN and Acosta argued they had been denied due process and discriminated against — the same arguments the news organizations are making today — Kelly never had the chance to explain his reasoning in a written ruling. Days after the judge's oral ruling from the bench, the administration relented and notified Acosta it would restore his pass permanently.

A White House staff member reaches for the microphone held by CNN's Jim Acosta as he questions Trump following midterm congressional elections in 2018.  NBC News file

Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., will work at the University of Southern California after retiring at the end of his term, the university announced in a news release today.

Peters will serve as the director of the Center for the Political Future, the release says, working alongside co-director Mike Murphy, a Republican strategist.

"I see this as a capstone to my years in public service and an opportunity to help prepare the next generation to take the reins," Peters said in the release. "CPF has done a terrific job bringing people with different perspectives together."

Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images file

The release said that the senator plans to expand the program's presence in Washington, D.C., and will divide his time between the capital and Los Angeles. He will also teach at both campuses, the release said.

The race to succeed Peters is considered one of the most competitive battleground races this fall. Democrat Abdul El-Sayed will face off against Republican former Rep. Mike Rogers. Peters announced in January of last year that he wouldn't seek re-election.

The U.S. has proposed a new AI safety notification mechanism for Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping to consider at their summit in Washington this week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said yesterday, amid global concern over whether the world’s two leading AI powers can work together to contain the technology’s potential dangers.

Speaking to reporters after daylong talks in New York with Chinese officials, Bessent said the two sides had discussed setting up a new U.S.-China AI dialogue that would include a mechanism for alerting each other to AI-related incidents that could affect national security.

“We think that just like with any cross-border activity, that moving from opaque to more transparency between the No. 1 and the No. 2 AI powers in the world is very important,” he said, adding that the two sides had agreed to meet again on the AI issue.

AI is expected to be high on the agenda when Trump and Xi meet Thursday, especially after warnings from AI leaders in the U.S. that the technology could pose an existential threat within a few years. Trump has dismissed such concerns as a “hoax” while agreeing with AI executives such as Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei that the U.S. must not allow China to pull ahead in the global AI race.

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The last time Elon Musk sank money into an election, he played a starring role in the 2025 state Supreme Court race in Wisconsin. He donned an oversized cheese hat, offered $1 million checks to voters, and he and affiliated groups poured at least $20 million into the contest.

In the end, the conservative candidate lost by 10 points in what was widely viewed as a rebuke of Musk and the Trump administration.

Now, the richest man in the world is back boosting Republican candidates in critical midterm elections, including a bruising Senate race in Texas where Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton is facing Democrat James Talarico, who had initially far outraised him and remains close in polling.

But that financial tide is quickly turning — with Musk’s help.

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Iran warned today it would use “new weapons with new capabilities” if the U.S. launched a fresh assault after Trump ramped up the rhetoric against Tehran over the weekend.

“If a new aggression takes place, we will definitely change the weapons and geography of the war,” Hossein Mohebbi, a spokesman for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said today, according to the semiofficial Fars news agency.

Mohebbi did not provide details on what the new weapons were or which new locations could be hit.

Earlier, Trump said he would “probably” be open to meeting with his Iranian counterpart, President Masoud Pezeshkian, during the United Nations General Assembly this week, Fox News chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst reported yesterday.

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Trump will meet with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani today, the mayor’s office confirmed to NBC News.

In a statement, Mamdani’s office said the two would meet at Gracie Mansion, the mayor’s official residence, to discuss “issues affecting New York City and New Yorkers.”

The president will be in New York City for the United Nations General Assembly meeting, where he is set to deliver remarks tomorrow and meet with global leaders.

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Trump is Set to Meet With Zohran Mamdani in New York City

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Democrat James Talarico holds a narrow advantage over Republican Ken Paxton in the Texas Senate race, but within the margin of error, according to a new poll, while Republican Gov. Greg Abbott holds a wider lead over Democrat Gina Hinojosa in the contest for governor, as economic issues and immigration drive voter decision-making.

The new NBC5 Dallas/Telemundo Station Group poll shows Talarico at 46% and Paxton at 43%, within the survey’s margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. Another 8% of potential voters were still up for grabs in the race — just as tens of millions of dollars in advertising from Republican groups began to flood into the state.

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News outlets CNN, Politico and MS NOW plan to file a lawsuit today against the Trump administration after Trump banned them from covering the White House.

The president announced the ban Friday on Truth Social, citing what he said was “their constant ‘reporting’ FAKE NEWS!”

In a joint statement on social media, the three outlets said they notified the administration today that they were filing the suit “to protect our First Amendment rights and defend the principle that the government does not decide what the press reports or publishes.”

Vaughn Hillyard, White House correspondent for MS NOW, reports from a corner near the White House today. Mark Schiefelbein / AP

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